WHAT IS THE PROPER WAY TO WASH MY CAR?

Washing your car in your free time is an act of care. You wash away the dust and dirt but at the same time, you are doing some damage. 95% of swirl marks in your paint come from improper washing techniques: using one bucket, not enough soap, the wrong rag or towel to dry, etc. The secret to a swirl-free wash is to maintain your mitt clean as you hit all the sides of your car. The most practical way to do this is the two bucket method.

 

Imagine shampooing your car with a mitt, and dipping the mitt into the soap solution. As you wash the mitt, dirt particles will remain in the water. However, after repeating this process a few times, the mitt will end up collecting those hard particles from the water. In this way, as you are shampooing, you are also rubbing those dirt particles in the paint, introducing the infamous swirl marks we have all seen. The solution is to use a rinse and a wash bucket along with grit guards, a proper washcloth, and drying towels.

          

                                                       

STEP 1: RINSE BUCKET

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Take one bucket and fill it with water and a grit guard. This will be your rinse bucket and will be the first stop for your filthy wash mitt after you pull it off the car.

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STEP 2: WASH BUCKET

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Fill a second bucket with water, add a grit guard and 1 – 3 oz of your favorite car soap. This will be your Wash Bucket, which is the second stop for your wash mitt. Activate the suds by spraying high-pressure water into the bucket.

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STEP 3: RINSE CAR

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Rinse the car using pressurized water to remove the largest dirt and debris, getting rid of it before you even have a chance to put mitt to paintwork.

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STEP 4: WASH CAR

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Dip wash mitt into the soapy water and wipe car from top to bottom in straight lines, one small section at a time. When the mitt has become soiled, remove it from paintwork.

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STEP 5: WRING WASH MITT

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Wring mitt out over the ground away from your vehicle so the majority of the dirt and debris end up on the floor instead of your next stop: the Rinse Bucket. 

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STEP 6: WASH THE MITT

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Return the soiled wash mitt to the Rinse Bucket. Rub the dirty wash mitt against the grit guards to agitate the stuck-on dirt, causing it to fall off the mitt and into the trap below. After cleaning it, remove it from the rinse bucket and wring it out. 

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STEP 7: SHAMPOO & REPEAT

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Place clean wash mitt back into the Wash Bucket to soap it up again. Repeat until the entire car is clean, then rinse and dry car.